PLB vs SleepEZ - or open to other options

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
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My wife and I are on our 3rd try to find a suitable replacement bed, and are grateful for having found this site as a resource.

Me: 5’10 175lbs side sleeper who prefers plush/pillow feel (bias towards plush) but needs good support
Mrs: 5’1 100lbs side/back sleeper who can’t find a mattress that is ‘too soft’ for her

After 9 years on our old innerspring, we thought we’d join the memory foam crowd. We purchased a Costco split king 13" foam bed on adjustable power bases that was a deal too good to pass up, and, for us… too good to be true. After 60 days, I had constant pain in the mornings and she, with her size, was never able to ‘sink in’ to the mattress at all - leaving it hard as rock for her. She started sleeping on the couch, we started shopping for a replacement and scheduled the return of the Costco bed.

Having been scared off of the memory foam (especially for her) we found ourselves in a big box store looking at innerspring again. She wanted every S&F pillow top we tried, none supported me properly on my side, so we compromised with a high-end S&F 16" plush. Given that it was innerspring, we decided to go back to a single King. After weeks of breaking in - this is way too firm for her, and, while ‘ok’ for me, not the ‘wonderful’ I was looking for and certainly not perceived as a good value for the price.

We’ve decided we were hooked on the adjustable base, and ordered one online (found an L&P Prodigy for $2100, did we buy well?). Prior to the pickup from Costco, we tried the S&F on the Costco adjustable base and found ourselves using the elevation FAR less frequently with the single mattress, not wanting to disturb each other.

So, we want to continue with the adjustable base, and with our displeasure with the S&F (from both a comfort and value perspective - as well as the less that ideal implementation with adjustable bases), we find ourselves looking for a 3rd (and hopefully final) time for the right mattress(es).

Now ready to educate myself, and prepared to invest where needed for the right PPP value - I am grateful for the lessons learned from this site. Here’s where we stand, would appreciate any advice:

Based on this site and advice from her chiropractor - looking at latex beds, and back to the split king idea to take full advantage of the bases. Latex seems to offer the best option for ‘soft feel’ with proper support. Again, for her - NOTHING is too soft, for me, my hips sink quickly into anything too ‘pillowy’, and latex seems to strike a good balance.

We found PLB at a local store and really like the Beautiful. It was supportive enough that I feel aligned. She likes it too, and loves it with a PLB topper.

We’ve since called around a few of the member sites from this forum and have found a good value on a set of 2 Twin XL PLB Beautifuls, with the tradeoff being the best deal comes from a member site with no comfort guarantee.

We’ve also been in touch with SleepEZ (thanks again MUG) and have discussed both a 10,000 and 13,000 in options configured for both of us - standard for me, and S-M-M for her (10") or S-S-M-M for her (13"), all Talalay.

We are now deciding between the 3 - PLB, 13" SleepEZ, and 10" Sleep EZ. I was leaning towards the 10" Sleep EZ and prepared to buy a topper for her.

I know this topic has been addressed in the forum. Here’s what I’d like to add to the conversation:

  • Given ‘princess and the pea/ nothing too soft for me’ Mrs - how much difference is there likely to be between the 15ILD PLB and the 19ILD Sleep EZ? I know this is ‘preference’ - but if we do the SleepEZ and a topper, I would have been better off buying the PLB.

-How worried should we be about no comfort guarantee (having never slept on latex before)?

-Heard conflicting advice on which setup is better for power bases - glued layers of PLB or free layers of Sleep EZ?

-Top layer of PLB is fast response GL foam - how much difference is ‘feel’ of this vs 15ILD regular foam?

-Can special order the SleepEZ with 15ILD top layer, but no warranty on that layer - worth the risk? (I know depends on answer to Q1)

  • Provided the historical diatribe above for full context. Based on this, any other options to consider before pulling the trigger?

Really want this next try to be the last one. Very grateful for the education provided here to that end - thank you!!!!

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Hi Way2Tired,

I tend to suggest treating the purchase of an adjustable bed as more of a “commodity purchase” based on price per features comparisons so if the Prodigy you purchased includes all the features that are most important to you and the cost was less than other adjustable beds you were considering that have the same features (regardless of any additional features that you don’t end up using) then it would be the “best” choice for you. There is more about choosing an adjustable bed in post #3 here and the adjustable bed thread that it links to.

Many of your mattress questions are very subjective and the answers are relative and would vary depending on each person’s criteria so I can certainly make a few comments or give you some suggestions about “how” to choose but you will need to decide on the risks involved in each of the choices you are considering based on your knowledge of your own circumstances and history.

I think that the two posts that will be most helpful with your decisions are post #2 here which has more information about the different ways to choose a mattress and how to assess and minimize the risks involved in each of them and post #13 here which has more information about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.

Every layer and component in a mattress will affect the feel and performance of every other layer to some degree so every difference between two mattresses in any of the layers or components will make a difference in how the two mattresses compare … not just the top layer. Having said that though … the top 3" to 6" or so will probably make the biggest difference in how two mattresses “feel” for most people when they lie on them although the deeper layers can have an effect on how you feel when you wake up in the morning because they can have a significant effect on your alignment.

The Beautiful has a top 3" layer of 15 ILD and then a 3" layer of 24 ILD underneath this and has a stretch knit cover. The 13" SleepEZ would be the closest comparison (thickness can also affect how soft a mattress feels) and with two soft layers on top would have 6" of 19 ILD and has a wool quilted cover (see post #6 here for more about wool quilted covers). Most people would feel a difference between 15 ILD and 19 ILD and in combination with the stretch cover the Beautiful would likely feel noticeably softer for most people but “how much” softer it would feel for any specific person can only be answered based on their own personal experience.

This depends entirely on your confidence that a mattress you are considering will be a suitable match for you in terms of PPP. If you are 100% confident that your testing in the store will reliably predict your actual sleeping experience and there is no possibility of making a mistake that would have a meaningful effect on your sleeping experience then there would be little benefit to a comfort exchange and you would probably be better off with the lower cost (comfort exchanges are built into the cost of a mattress and the people who don’t exchange a mattress pay for the ones that do). On the other hand if you aren’t certain at all or if you end up purchasing a mattress that isn’t as suitable for you in terms of PPP as you hoped for then an exchange policy can have a significant effect on the risk of a mattress purchase. Most people are somewhere in between these two tradeoffs (risk vs cost) and need to decide on the risk involved in their purchase and their risk tolerance and the options they would have available if they make a “mistake” in their choice to decide which of these tradeoffs is most important to them.

Latex is very “sticky” and doesn’t tend to shift inside a mattress with a suitable tight fitting cover so there would be little risk of layers shifting but if for some reason they do then with a zip cover it’s a simple matter to unzip the cover and “wave” them back into position again. There is more about the pros and cons of each in post #2 here and the posts it links to.

There would be “little” difference between Talalay GL and “regular” talalay if they were the same ILD. Some people have said that the Talalay GL can feel a little “stiffer” to them although they may have been feeling more of the ILD difference between two layers that they were comparing than the difference in the material itself.

Again this would depend on your own risk tolerance. All softer materials will be less durable than firmer materials of the same type. Warranties only cover defects in a material not the loss of comfort and support and actual defects in a material tend to show up early in the life of a mattress. Outside of actual defects in a material (which aren’t common) … the tradeoff here would be about suitability vs durability and sleeping well for a shorter period of time before you may need to replace a layer (or the mattress) or sleeping less well (if the materials are slightly too firm) but for a longer period of time. I personally believe that PPP is the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase and I would personally rather sleep better for a shorter time than not sleep as well for a longer period of time … especially if individual layers can be replaced.

Hopefully this has helped you to clarify the risks and benefits involved with each of your choices so you are in a better position to make a final choice between them (see post #2 here).

Phoenix

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Thanks Phoenix. Your patience in repeating key messages for each of us to hear ‘directly from you’ is noticed and greatly appreciated. This site and this forum have been a tremendous resource. Thank you for what you do and how you are doing it!

After another good conversation with Shawn at Sleep EZ, we decided on a 4th option - purchased the 7000 as a split King, Med/Firm layers for me, Soft/Med layers for her, and a 3" 16ILD topper for each of us. Hoping that there will be ‘enough’ with the lower profile and the topper, but like the strategy of getting the 10" profile while enhancing the ‘soft feel’ by utilizing the free-floating topper vs. a special order top layer.

Order shipped same day, and will be sure to post feedback. Can’t say enough great things about Shawn and Sleep EZ in terms of customer service thus far.

And can’t say thanks enough to Phoenix for what you’ve done here for countless families, now including mine.

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Hi Way2Tired,

It sounds like you make great choices for all the right reasons … and congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

I’m looking forward to your feedback when you’ve had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.

Thanks for the kind words as well … I appreciate it!

Phoenix